STATES

NEW DELHI

Homage to Indira Gandhi

The President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, paying homage to former Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary at Shakti-Sthal in the Capital

NEW DELHI : The nation remembered its late leader, former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, on her 17 death anniversary on October 31. The President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, the Congress president, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, were among those who paid homage at Shakti Sathal. Also present on the occasion were the Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs. Sheila Dixit, the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Digvijay Singh, the former Haryana governor and Congress leader, Mr. Mahavir Prasad, the former Uttar Pradesh governor and Congress Treasurer, Mr. Moti Lal Vora and Delhi Family Welfare Minister, Mrs. Krishna Tirath. All the leaders later joined an all-religion prayer meeting organised to mark the occasion at her samadhi. Mr. Narayanan, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, Mrs. Dixit and others also visited the late leader’s memorial on Safdarjung Road and paid her a floral tribute.

DPCC activists led by PCC president Subhash Chopra and former MP Sajjan Kumar in New Delhi demonstrating against reinduction of George Fernandes as Defence Minister

Agitation Against Reinduction of Fernandes

NEW DELHI : Police resorted to water cannons and preventive arrests on 18 October to stop senior AICC leaders and workers led by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee from marching towards the Prime Minister’s House to protest against the reinduction of Mr. George Fernandes into the Union Cabinet. A number of workers including senior leader, Mr. Hanumantha Rao, were injured.

The Congress workers led by the DPCC president, Mr. Subhash Chopra, had gathered at the Talkatora Road office in the morning.

They were joined by senior leaders including the AICC general secretary incharge Delhi, Mr. Kamal Nath, CWC members, Ms. Ambika Soni, Mr. Motilal Vora, Mr. Natwar Singh, Mr. R.K. Dhawan, Mr. Oscar Fernandes, and local leaders Mr. Hasan Ahmed, Mr. Jagdish Tytler and Mr. Sajjan Kumar. Backed by local leaders and MLAs including, Mr. Arvinder Singh Lovely, Mr. Mukesh Sharma, Mr. Mahinder Bhattewala and the Leader of the Opposition in MCD, Mr. Babu Ram Sharma. They managed to breach the barricades and the human wall formed by the security personnel present there.

Shouting slogans against the BJP and the Vajpayee regime, they demanded that Mr. Fernandes should not only be dropped from the Cabinet but also action should be initiated against him for his involvement in compromising the security of the nation.

Addressing the workers, Mr. Kamal Nath said even when the Venkataswami Commission was carrying on the probe into the Tehelka scam, the Prime Minister had decided to re-instate Mr. Fernandes in the Union Cabinet in a “shameless” manner. What is worse the Prime Minister has given a clean chit to Mr. Fernandes making the functioning of the Commission irrelevant.

The Centre had sought to compromise the security of the country by appointing a tainted person as the Defence Minister.

Stating that the reinduction of Mr. Fernandes was a black day for democracy, Mrs. Ambika Soni said the Prime Minister had thrown all norms to the winds and given official recognition to corruption at high places. The corrupt NDA regime has shown that it could go to any extent to stick to power.

Mr. Chopra said the DPCC under the leadership of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi would continue with its agitation against the induction of Mr. Fernandes.

He felt that the relevance of the Venkatswami Commission had also come under scrutiny as the Prime Minister had given a clean chit to Mr. Fernandes. The BJP would have to pay heavily for compromising on national security issues and corruption, he added.

The Rajasthan PCC president, Ms. Girija Vyas, addressing a meeting in Jaipur against the reinduction of George Fernandes as Defence Minister in the NDA government

Meanwhile, in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) on October 17 described the reinduction of George Fernandes in the Union Cabinet as an act of impropriety which was ‘unethical’, ‘immoral’ and a reflection of spirit to encourage corruption at high places.

A delegation comprising RPCC president, Ms. Girija Vyas, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, senior leaders, some ministers, PCC office-bearers, leaders and workers of urban and rural Congress, heads of frontal organisations, district leaders and workers, etc. went to Raj Bhavan and presented the memorandum to Secretary to the Governor. Sources said that as Justice Anshuman Singh was unwell hence Congress leaders could not meet him.

The two-page memorandum signed by the PCC chief, Ms. Vyas and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that Prime Minister was ignoring corruption at high places which was evident from the reinduction of George Fernandes as Defence Minister in the Union Cabinet.

Congress leaders have also addressed the memorandum to the President of India and requested Governor, Justice Anshuman Singh to send it to New Delhi. Congress leaders have condemned the Prime Minister for taking arbitrary action.